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<br />March 24, 2025 <br /> <br />At a Called Meeting of the City Council on Monday, March 24, 2025, there were <br />present: <br /> <br />Mayor Shannon E. Glover, Vice Mayor William E. Moody, Jr., Mark A. Hugel, Vernon L. <br />Tillage, Jr., Kathryn W. Bryant, Dr. William S. Dodson, Jr., Yolanda E. Thomas, City <br />Manager Steven Carter, Deputy City Attorney Derek G. Challenger. <br /> <br />25 - 79 - Mayor Glover called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance. <br /> <br /> "Please attend a called meeting of the City Council to be held in the Council <br />Chamber, 801 Crawford Street, 5:30 p.m., Monday, March 24, 2025, for the purpose of a <br />Public Work Session. <br /> <br /> In addition, you may consider a motion to go into a Closed Meeting. <br /> <br />By order of the Mayor." <br /> <br />25 - 80 - The following item was discussed in Public Work Session: <br /> <br />1. Personal Property Tax Discussion – Commissioner Frankie Edmondson <br /> <br /> Mr. Hugel requested information on a regional comparison for tax rates. <br /> <br /> Mr. Edmondson stated he would be able to provide the requested <br />o <br />information. <br /> <br /> <br /> Mr. Tillage requested that when the chart of the regional tax rates is provided, an <br />explanation regarding what one cent of personal property tax represents is also <br />included. <br /> <br /> Mr. Edmondson agreed to include the request. <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />2. Operating/CIP Budget Presentation – Steven Carter, City Manager <br /> <br />Budget-at-a-Glance <br /> <br />The Proposed FY 2026 Budget for the City of Portsmouth totals $338,023,033 in <br />revenues, a 3.4% increase from the FY 2026 Adopted Budget. Local revenues are <br />projected at $244,478,630. <br />Key Revenue Adjustments <br /> <br /> Real Estate Tax rate increase of $0.01 per $100 assessed value (new rate: $1.24) <br /> <br /> Water and sewer rates increase of 5%, Stormwater fee increase of $2.00 <br /> <br /> Adjustments to EMS fees and Summer Rays program fees <br /> <br />Major Initiatives <br /> <br />Public Safety <br /> <br /> Funding for new Public Safety Facility (completion by 2028) <br /> <br /> Enhanced recruitment and retention for police and emergency services <br />Infrastructure <br /> <br /> New City Hall project (completion by 2028) <br /> <br /> Civic Center demolition (January 2026) <br /> <br /> Critical upgrades to sewer pump stations <br /> <br /> Expanded street repaving program with multi-year funding commitment <br />Technology Improvement <br /> <br /> New permitting system implementation <br /> <br /> “One Account” unified billing system <br /> <br /> Website and intranet redesign <br />Process Improvement <br /> <br /> New Pay and Classification Plan with 5% increase in compensation <br /> <br /> Dedicated Change Teams for continuous improvement <br /> <br /> Employee development and recognition programs <br />Education <br /> <br /> $81,378,325 for Portsmouth Public Schools ($6 million increase, 7.6%) <br /> <br /> Funding for new K-8 school <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />